Trump Order Tells CDC to Align With Study Calling for Fewer Childhood Vaccines

President Donald Trump on Friday gave his endorsement to a January study by HHS that calls for cutting the number of vaccinesopens in a new tab or window recommended for every American child.

An executive order from Trump directs federal agencies to align their policies behind the study, which recommended an overhaulopens in a new tab or window long called for by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The study found that the U.S. recommends more childhood vaccines than many peer nations.

The Trump administration previously moved to narrow the number of recommended childhood vaccines in response to the report, but the move was blocked opens in a new tab or windowby a federal judge in Massachusetts. The administration is appealingopens in a new tab or window the decision.

The study recommends vaccinating all children against 11 diseases. Several others would be recommended only for high-risk groups or when doctors recommend them in what’s called “shared decision-making.” That includes vaccines for flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

There’s no credible scientific evidence to support changing the current childhood schedule, said Bobby Mukkamala, MD, president of the American Medical Association.

“Altering it without clear, evidence-based justification risks continued confusion for parents and patients, undermining trust in vaccines, and ultimately lowering vaccination rates,” he said in a statement. Mukkamala added that decisions about vaccine use “must be guided by science, patient safety, and the expertise of unbiased physicians and public health experts — not by policy shifts that erode confidence in proven protections.”

Trump’s order adds weight behind the study at a time when the administration had appeared to be trying to shift focus away from Kennedy’s more contentious vaccine policies and toward more mainstream topics like healthy eatingopens in a new tab or window.

The order directs the CDC to review the study and “take any appropriate steps” to update its vaccine recommendations. It says the CDC should “provide maximum flexibility to parents and doctors” and directs agencies to make sure all actions, regulations, and funding are aligned with the study.

The order adds that any changes should ensure that Americans retain their current access to vaccines.

States, not the federal government, have the authority to require vaccinations for schoolchildren. While CDC requirements often influence those state regulations, some states have begun creating their own alliancesopens in a new tab or window to counter the Trump administration’s guidance on vaccines.

Trump directed HHS to carry out the study in December.

Kennedy is a longtime activist against vaccines and has sought ways to inject his skepticism about the shots into national guidance. Last year, he announced the CDC would no longer recommendopens in a new tab or window COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women, a move questioned by public health experts who saw no new data to justify the change.

Last June, he fired a 17-member CDC vaccine advisory committee and later installed several of his own replacementsopens in a new tab or window, including multiple vaccine skeptics.

The January report found that vaccine recommendations for American children had increased in recent decades. It also highlighted countries where no vaccines are required to attend school.

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